Construction firms should devote more time and fund to developing young people for the construction industry in the UK. This is a call made by a group of parliamentarians who came up with a report with findings and recommendations to ultimately help generate construction jobs for the young people in the UK.

Image credit: st-georges-academy.org

This comes as construction apprenticeship in the said location continues to drop over the last few years. The goal is not only to prepare the youth but also to encourage them to get into the construction industry. The report entitled No More Lost Generations: Creating Construction Jobs for Young People was put up to address the issue.

There is an increased demand for skilled workers in developing economies all over the world. Just recently, Singapore opened its doors to foreign workers. Same is true in some Middle Eastern countries. This is why in the UK, where the industry is showing signs of recovery, construction firms are urged to put heavy importance in encouraging and preparing the youth. Developing homegrown workers so they wouldn’t have to acquire labor overseas is another aspect the report highlights.

The said report, which is supported by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), has the following recommendations, to name a few:

- A training summit

- A revitalized apprenticeship strategy

- Flexible apprenticeships

- Greater collaboration between training boards

Image credit: theconstructionindex.co.uk

Obviously, training goes past beyond learning how to use tools like the diamond blade or the diamond core bit. This group of parliamentarians are surely looking at a bigger picture and hoping for a more progressive construction industry.

Also according to the said report, around 182,000 jobs need to be filled by the year 2018, and only 7,280 workers have completed an apprenticeship last year.